Snakes Out Early This Year

An early spring and summer brought out the rodents and the snakes.

Putnam County Extension Agent Wayne Key said Middle Tennessee is home to some 30 species of snakes.

“Snakes like cool, moist damp areas, basements, crawlspaces under your house, under old wood stacked in the corner of the yard, pieces of tin or metal where they can get out of the sunlight, this time of year they’re looking for someplace cool and damp,” Key said.

There’s also three types of venomous snakes in our area: the copperhead, timber rattlesnake and western pygmy rattlesnake.

“If you’re out and about in nature, simply, if you encounter a poisonous snake or a snake you’re not sure of, I’d certainly leave them alone, walk a different path and leave them to be and not try to come into contact with them,” Key said.

If you encounter a snake in your home, you have some options. None of the snake species are protected, so you can destroy it. You can also call an exterminator, Key said.